Da Vinci people won?t bend

THE DA Vinci Code is fiction. Director Ron Howard, distributor Sony Pictures and the Indian organisations on a crusade against the movie have agreed on this fact. But then how do you word it? Should the disclaimer be in the beginning or towards the end?

THE DA Vinci Code is fiction. Director Ron Howard, distributor Sony Pictures and the Indian organisations on a crusade against the movie have agreed on this fact. But then how do you word it? Should the disclaimer be in the beginning or towards the end?

There are no agreements here. The result: the film's release in India may be delayed. Following a petition from Christian organisations, the Censor Board had asked Sony Pictures to insert a disclaimer that "it is a work of pure fiction and has no correspondence to historical facts of the Christian religion". Sony Pictures declined, saying the regular legal card, which figured after the credits, stated, "The characters and incidents portrayed and the names herein are fictitious".

Is the meaning of "pure fiction" different from "fictitious"? While linguists and censors can figure that out, Howard was adamant at Cannes. "When we say 'a thriller', it is evident it is fiction," he said.

There is more to the hullabaloo. The Catholic forums wanted the disclaimer at the beginning and the end of the film. Howard said such a statement at the start would spoil the thriller. Never mind that the majority of film critics have already blamed Howard and Co for that.

But it is not the end of the road for The Code in India. "The producers or distributors can file an appeal against the Censor Board's decision at the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal," said an official in the I&B Ministry.

The distributors have already petitioned the censors to take a relook. "We are currently in dialogue with the board," said Vikramjit Roy of Sony Pictures. "So we cannot determine the release date yet." The Code buffs can keep their fingers crossed.